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The crops of Canaan

Commentary
Fourth Sunday in Lent - C
Joshua 5:9-12
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Psalm 32
One night, prowling the corners of a Christian bookstore, I stumbled past the Max Lucado, Dan Jenkins, and Janette Oke books to find myself before a display meant not to be read, but eaten: Christian candy. I kid you not. Chocolate peanut bars labeled, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Noah's Ark gummy animals. Scripture mints. And my favorite, the "Bible Bar," the all-natural food bar containing all the foods mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8 -- wheat, barley, honey, figs, olive oil, grapes and pomegranates -- for only $1.95! (also available in powder, meal-replacement form).
UPCOMING WEEKS
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Lent 2
20 – Sermons
170+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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Lent 3
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
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Lent 4
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
27 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

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John Jamison
Object: A rock about the size of a tennis ball, baseball, or even a softball.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
For March 30, 2025:

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Paul reread the parable again and sighed. Why had he agreed to lead the Bible study this week? When Pastor Luke asked him, he had been all excited and enthusiastic. He knew the parable of the prodigal son inside and out having read commentaries and stories about it before. He had actually preached a sermon on the passage when Pastor Luke was away and received great feedback from the congregation.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Joshua 5:9-12
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Joshua 9:5-12

SermonStudio

Bonnie Bates
It is a well-known cliché that “God never gives us more than we can handle”, but I have sometimes found that not to be so. When my youngest brother died of brain cancer at age five, it was more than I could handle. When my first husband was emotionally and physically abusive, it was more than I could handle. When my second husband and I lost our twin sons at birth, it was more than I could handle. The COVID pandemic was more than we could handle. Wars and violence are often more than we can handle. Homelessness, poverty, grief, and loss are often more than we can handle.
John N. Brittain
I suppose we are all a little bit nervous about the prospect of a sermon on a Bible story as familiar and sometimes as overworked as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. "What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before?" And I know what's going through your minds: "Are we going to be subjected to the same old sermon yet another time?" Confronting a familiar Bible passage like this mid-Lent really serves to address the discipline of reading Scripture as part of our devotional life, particularly passages that are very familiar.
Charles D. Reeb
A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six:

When I was One, I had just begun.
When I was Two, I was nearly new.
When I was Three, I was hardly Me.
When I was Four, I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I'm as clever as ever.
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.1

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to worship:

 While the Prodigal Son was still far off, his father saw him, ran to him, put his arms around him and kissed him. In our worship today, let us turn to God so that he may run to us, put his arms around and kiss us.

Invitation to confession:

 Jesus, for the times when we run away from you,

Lord, have mercy.

 Jesus, for the times when we have wasted our inheritance on dissolute living,

Christ, have mercy.

 Jesus, when we return to you,

Lord, have mercy.

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